Sex Party launches its election ad campaign

The Australian Sex Party has released a set of ads ahead of the anticipated federal Election.

Created by Bret Treasure of WA-based web marketing consultancy Free Beer, the aim of the ad is to remind voters that it doesn’t matter who they tell friends they’re voting for as their ballot is private. According to Treasure:

“Advertising should fit the personality of the brand and the Australian Sex Party doesn’t take itself quite as seriously as the established parties. Not expecting the other parties to use humour all that much so it stakes out territory and appeals to those who find the adversarial thing a bit of a drone.

“In those millions of pre-election conversations about to occur in workplaces and homes, very few people will put their hand up and say “I’m voting Sex Party”. We’re reminding people here that nobody sees who they vote for in the final analysis.

“We’re also doing two other things in the ad; visually legitimising a vote for the party by showing a Sex Party vote on a ballot paper and we’re explaining that socially enlightened people are under-represented in parliament.”

But it doesn’t say how racist they are and what they will do to those dodgy boat people and the evil people smugglers who take their cash, bring them to our country, blow up the MCG and then take our jobs. How can we compare them to Julia and Tony?

Some minor copy alts since then; people interested can follow your ‘According to Treasure’ link. Main copy change is the addition of drug decriminalisation as a policy objective; i.e. decriminalisation of drugs for personal use in small quantities. The Party is still in favour of prosecuting drug traffickers.

@Pedro; well, Tim’s site is not the place for political discussions but you can compare Sex Party policies on many social issues to the major parties. We’ll build a broader policy platform over time but it’s probably the most ‘humanist’ of parties. We wouldn’t be turning any boats around.

Just had a read through their policies. A lot of their policies I am quite passionate about so it’s great to see that they are really putting themselves out there. Win or not, thank you for your voices. A few people might hear and actually listen.
Cheeky ad campaign too, I like it!

So, if they’re about all these “other issues”, issues other than sex, why are they calling themselves the Sex party?

How about they stop beating around the bush and just come out with what they’re really about? Which, I think many people will rightly assume is about what their name is based on…

If they’re so “socially enlightened” they might not need to hang their identity on their sexuality and realise there are plenty of more pressing issues in our world beside what people do with their pink bits.

@Anon; I don’t know how much more open you can be than calling yourself the Sex Party and campaigning for some enlightened policies in those areas. The same conservative forces that constrain progressive policies affect areas like drugs and censorship so we feel they’re close to home. We’ll be advocating change in some other areas too.

What might not be a pressing issue for you might well be a pressing area for someone else, depending on their circumstances. It’s healthy to have a range of topics discussed; there is more than one agenda.

After reading their policies it’s not all about pink bits Anon. They are very relevant issues to many and still filter back to what would seem to be their core values. I couldn’t care less what a political party is called! If they are doing what is best for the country and it’s people then that’s what matters.
That said, you can’t please 100% of people 100% of the time. Impossible. Every political party has holes in their arguments and policies.
I’d hate to be the PM, what a shit job and you get paid less than the average CEO in the country you’re RUNNING! Take a wrong turn and your cabinet sack you anyway.
Anyway, rant on about politics al you like, refreshing to see a ad that isn’t the same old naff shit.

Guys, just because you’re calling yourself the Sex Party doesn’t mean you’re open.

It means you think Sex is a solution to running the country.

Sure, there are other policies raised, but I thought we were all marketing experts on this forum? If you were about all these other “Socially Enlightened” issues, why not call yourself the Social Enlightenment Party?

You don’t think calling yourself the Sex Party is going to get you alienated before you’ve even opened your mouth?

Sure, why doesn’t Apple bring out the new SexPhone and show the world how socially enlightened they really are. Come on people, its not rocket science!

Just to add a response to “What might not be a pressing issue for you might well be a pressing area for someone else, depending on their circumstances. It’s healthy to have a range of topics discussed; there is more than one agenda.”

The Sex Party limits the perception of themselves to one issue and one agenda by their very name, that’s my point. The choice of name in its own right indicates a limited, small minded, puerile approach to both politics and marketing – which is about reaching people.

I also care about addressing the other issues they’ve raised; don’t believe in internet censorship, am sexually liberated, have loads of gay friends and have taken drugs – so what? They won’t be getting my vote, simply for being such wankers – literally.

A few posters above hit the nail on the head. Policies… in reality what do we see Abbot mainly doing? Slagging off labor what do we see Labor doing? SDlagging off the liberals and again no real policy. apart from the net filtre, the nanny state Kev wanted us to become and the mining tax which was never properly reported anyway.

The time for real change is now, we most certainly need to up-end the libs, labor, throw them out of power and install the Sex party and the greens so we can get carbon reducing, have a real inquiry in to the Catholic church and why so many pedder priests get away without ending up where they belong which is in prison.

If the gay community really want to have their own reality check when it comes to Divorce then hey im a 100% behind them (hello Boys) lets allow them to be legally married.

This country is rapidly becoming a $hit fight with a bunch of mad right wing christian f-tards pulling too many strings.
Clean up australia should now apply to a new subject. Canberra.

Mick EXACTLY! I will say, let’s not let people confuse “legally married” as gay people wanting recognition from the church either. They don’t. They just want the same legal rights as anyone else.
Anyhow I think a vast percentage of people vote for the best of a bad bunch and really, for quite some time that’s all we’ve had!! Yes Anon the NAME “Sex Party” takes the risk of alienating people who are conservative narrow minded stuff shirts but I dare say their policies…these ppl wouldn’t agree with anyway. I like their policies. I’ve voted Greens for the past handful of elections, do they get anywhere? No. It will take a RADICAL change for this country to be led by a party other than lib or labour, which is frustrating. Hopefully it happens in my lifetime! As you say Mikck, I’m sick of the major parties standing over a step and slinging mudat eacthother rather than fixing things that need to be fixed!
I’ll say it again though, as this is a forum related to advertising, good to see some political ads that are a bit left of centre!

In a new paper for the Cato Institute, attorney and author Glenn Greenwald closely examines the Portugal experiment and concludes that the doomsayers were wrong. There is now a widespread consensus in Portugal that decriminalization has been a success. The debate in Portugal has shifted rather dramatically to minor adjustments in the existing arrangement.

It’s time for this country to take it’s proverbial hand off of it and move on up to the 21st century.

This is one aspect I love about the democracy we still have, that right, while we still have a free internet is to call that bunch of puss bags in Canberra a bunch of scum sucking low life c-nts. As hopefull the wankers (that’s us the people) will tip them in to the lake to drown.

Will you have the guts to step up to the plate of be one of the Sheeple?

Gr8 read guys.
Anon your comment: “The choice of name in its own right indicates a limited, small minded, puerile approach to both politics and marketing – which is about reaching people.

I also care about addressing the other issues they’ve raised; don’t believe in internet censorship, am sexually liberated, have loads of gay friends and have taken drugs – so what? They won’t be getting my vote, simply for being such wankers – literally.”

We needed a name that stood out – social enlightenment is too mainstream. Sex sells & is the largest industry in the world above food (I do need to get solid stats on this).
Intimacy and connection are mother nature’s solution to the man made disease of materialism. Without the health benefits of a strong sexual urge every species would die off. In 100 yrs if the world is still here it won’t matter whether there was a pothole on a country road – we need to think BIG!! GLOBAL! And that requires major changes fast – even if you don’t vote for us at least you’ll have noticed us. As for being wankers, if a person cannot please themself they will rely on others and other substances to feel good – which doesn’t do society any good at all.

PS Forgot to say that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. I daresay ppl advertising their affiliation with the Sex Party realise they will be held up to scrutiny & thus are “clean” by majority’s standards 🙂

Definitely got my vote. I care deeply about the policies that the Sex Party lists on their site and I really don’t think that people who support those policies are going to be concerned about the name. I’ll be delighted to see some Sex Party members in the Senate or even the Reps!